H&S scene;

              S€EME
Birth of a group
The Grand Ballroom of the Hotel St. Francis, San Francisco, was the scene for the launching of Commander Risleyand The Current Liabilities, San Francisco office rock group par excellence.The occasion was the annual San Francisco office dinner dance last June.
The idea of forming the group was conceived when manager Bob Risley and his audit crew {Chuck Streamer, Karl Dobrinich and Bill Nunan), assigned to Diamond Internationa! in Chico, California, discovered that apart from auditing, their common talent was music. Karl Dobrinich sought out other talented but frustrated musicians from among the audit staff, and the group was born: Commander (Bob) Risley—piano, Jim Roberson—drums, Jeff Jastram— harp/vocal, John Skadden—lead guitar/vocal, Bill Nunan—rhythm guitar/vocal, Martin Blade—bass guitar, Chuck Streamer and Lynne Wilsey—vocal, and Karl Dobrinich—director.
Initial practices were held at various members' apartments. After a shaky start, with songs, chords and vocalists being tried and rejected and tried again, a repertoire was developed from the rock 'n' roll sounds of the fifties to the folk songs of the seventies. By the end of the third practice session, the first public engagement had been secured from Doc Warren, Chairman of the Dinner Dance Committee. Instruments and amplifiers were rented, courtesy of H&S.The group had become a reality complete with an official photographer and a permanent contingent of groupies.
The first major setback was encountered at the fourth practice session when an unsympathetic neighbor called the police. Fortunately, the session was just about over when the police arrived, but it was clear that some more isolated place would have to be found. The ideal place appeared to be the H&S staff room. Application was made and with good-humored skepticism permission was granted for its use, on the understanding that practice sessions would not begin until after 7:00 p.m. (i.e., until after the "workers" had left for the day!)
From then on, the practice sessions went without a hitch. All that remained was to decide on a name for the group and costumes for the opening night. Commander Risley and The Current Liabilities was selected from a number of suggestions including The Limited Potentials, Risley's Revenge, HandS Streaker and the Womblies, The Random Samples, and The Declining Balances. Costumes were left to the imagination of individual members.
At about 8:00 p.m. the lights dimmed in the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel St. Francis. Doc Warren spoke cautiously as he introduced the group hidden behind the slowly rising red curtains. The crowd immediately surged across the dance floor and clustered around the stage.The lights flashed on to reveal the motley garb of Commander Risley and The Current Liabilities. The roar of the audience was followed by a momentary hush and then a stampede for the dance floor as the group launched into its first number.
One after another, members of the group were spotlighted; while some of the audience danced, others stomped their feet in time to the music, and all roared their approval. Encores were called for and given, and for about 45 minutes the walls of the ballroom rang with glorious sound. Commander Risley and The Current Liabilities had made their debut with unmitigated success. •